Deflated Lewis Hamilton admits qualifying ISSUES in Austria

Lewis Hamilton

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Deflated Hamilton admits qualifying ISSUES in Austria

The seven-time world champion could only put his Mercedes on the third row for Sunday's race

Chris Deeley

Saturday 1 July 2023 09:57

Lewis Hamilton appeared deflated after Friday's qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, admitting that he found the session 'difficult'.

Hamilton pushed Fernando Alonso hard in a fight for second place two weeks ago in Canada, but could only put his Mercedes fifth on the grid behind Max Verstappen, both Ferraris and the McLaren of Lando Norris.

His Mercedes team-mate George Russell fared even worth, and will start 11th for Sunday's feature race after failing to make it out of the second part of qualifying. The Englishman did have one lap time deleted for exceeding track limits, but seemed to lack the raw pace to challenge much higher on the grid.

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Hamilton appeared to blame the circuit's layout for some of the team's struggles, admitting that the Mercedes team have long struggled at the Red Bull Ring.

Hamilton: 'It was a difficult session'

“It’s not P1," he said. "But I'll take it and I'll try and work with it tomorrow. I think our race pace was possibly around third fastest at the time. I think the Red Bulls and the Ferrari’s were quickest, or maybe the Astons maybe. Maybe we’re fourth.

"I’m not quite sure exactly, we’re just trying to focus on just trying to get around as quick as we can.

“Today, it was a very difficult session. Not an easy circuit. Our car in general, in the past, has never really suited this circuit. It shows that again today. Really tough session, but got through it."